Hello. I've brewed beer since I was very young. I grew up in on a small farm in southeast Texas where the climate catered to a lot of natural sugar sources so almost everyone had carboys of wild fruit wine growing up. There were also vineyards and wineries all around which were some of my first jobs. I had so much brewing equipment by the time I was in my early twenties that my brother and I rented first a barn, then a warehouse we called our "brewery" and we brewed for peoples weddings, party's and anything that gave us an excuse to brew a lot or brew something new. After awhile we attempted to open a legitimate farmhouse brewpub type operation on the old family farm, but ran into some issues with local legislation. It's a long story. I moved out west where I began a professional brewing career. I've worked for 4 breweries in varying capacities; brewer, technical director, and as a consultant. It was a hard time for me. I ended up working for some crumby breweries and some of the crumbiest people. It really took the beauty out of brewing for me and showed me a side of the industry that is slimy and doesn't care about the beer, their people, or even the people drinking it. After several years I left and made a career change because I didn't want anything to do with any of it anymore. I still have the system I was using when I was younger. I used it in a couple breweries for R&D, but I haven't touched it in over a year. Even tried to sell it and all the stuff I've collected over the years, but no takers. Recently I've been rediscovering the joys of great beer and realizing that I still love brewing and the brewing community, but the business of beer is just no place for me. I thought this would be a great place to reconnect with that community, so here I am. I'm glad my stuff never sold. I've had some beers on the mind for a long time now that I think I should finally brew.
Anyway, I'm happy to be here and look forward to exchanging knowledge and experience with everyone. I believe firmly that beer is about community. The brewers in urban garages and rural barns are the ones making the greatest beer because their motivation and influence is not tainted by the elements of branding, marketing, demand, financial reports, or legality. They brew what they like for the people they like and historically that is much truer to beer than the beer market that thrives today.
If you haven't noticed, I've got a chip on my shoulder. Many local breweries are great and I'm glad there's some good ones around. At the very least they're good for their free, fresh yeast.
Anyway, I'm happy to be here and look forward to exchanging knowledge and experience with everyone. I believe firmly that beer is about community. The brewers in urban garages and rural barns are the ones making the greatest beer because their motivation and influence is not tainted by the elements of branding, marketing, demand, financial reports, or legality. They brew what they like for the people they like and historically that is much truer to beer than the beer market that thrives today.
If you haven't noticed, I've got a chip on my shoulder. Many local breweries are great and I'm glad there's some good ones around. At the very least they're good for their free, fresh yeast.
